Lennox, it was Lennox. I could sense her magic anywhere.
I steered Zola into the fray, she leapt over bodies, wasting no time making it to the center of the battlefield where we found Lennox and Kara fighting back-to-back, bodies littered on the ground at their feet.
Lennox held her sword in her hand, the metal dripping with blood. Her hair whipped around her, the honey locks speckled with blood as was her face and leathers. Goddess, she was beautiful.
“Lennox! Kara!”
The sister’s attention whipped toward me. “Get on! We’re going to the palace.”
I didn’t slow Zola as we continued toward Lennox, I reached down an arm. Lennox grasped my forearm and leapt, swinging her body up onto the horse in one fluid motion.
“We’re going to go force them to concede. I thought you might like to join.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Her arms wrapped around my waist, holding tight as we continued through the battlefield and into Verbial.
The wind whipped past us as we rode through the woods into the city. The cold stung my cheeks, but Zola didn’t let up.
From the looks of it, Bergan had only sent roughly half of his legion, if my estimation was correct.
Which left the other half guarding the city.
“Stop the horse!” Lennox called from behind me.
I pulled on the reins, bringing Zola to an abrupt halt, Nico and Kara stopped beside us.
“I have a plan.” Lennox slid from the back of the horse. “I want to catch Bergan and Leone in a lie. The troops were supposed to arrive this morning; odds are, they know nothing of what transpired at our camp this morning with Adreona and the Dhampirs. I think we should use that to our advantage. We arrive and tell them we’re here to discuss why they didn’t show. I want to see what they have to say for themselves.”
“Okay.” I dismounted Zola. “But we’re all covered in blood, how are we going to explain that?”
“That’s why I had us stop. We can wash in the riverhere.” She gestured to the creek to our left. “I’ll use my magic to dry our clothes and then we can be back on our way.”
“What if they come out and say the truth right away?” Kara slid from Nico’s back.
“I know Bergen, there’s little possibility of that happening.” I knew he’d be a liability from the moment we stepped into the room.
“We’ll assess the situation once we’re in it.”
“Then let’s get washed up quickly. We don’t have time to waste.” Nico pulled his shirt over his head and headed to the river.
Lennox waded into the water farther down the river, away from Kara and Nico, I followed her. We still needed to talk.
She was crouched on a rock in nothing but her undergarments, dipping her leathers into the frigid water.
“I’m sorry,” I kneeled beside her, submerging my own clothes into the stream.
“I know.” She tilted her head toward me. “I’m sorry too.” She pulled the dripping garments from the stream. “I overreacted.”
“I don’t think you did. You’re entitled to your feelings.”
She summoned her magic, drying her clothes in an instant before pulling them back on, I followed suit.
“I know, but still—” She braced her hands on her hips and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “You got my wrath when you came back from the Scribe—from Keziq the first time. You didn’t deserve it again now. I just—” She met my gaze, her eyes glistening. “I’m terrified of what this might mean.”
I closed the space between us in two steps, pulling her against my chest and wrapping my arms around her.
“Me too. When I first made the deal—all I was thinking about was getting you out of our arranged marriage. That was my only goal. I would have gone to whatever means necessary to get you out of it, even if it meant sacrificing myself. I never considered the impact my actions might have on you down the line. I never thought you’d pick me. That we’d end up here, together.”
“I know,” she said softly. “And I can’t blame you for the past, we have to figure out how we move forward from here.” I took her hands in mine and traced my fingers over the markings on her palm. Connected, we would always be connected to each other.
